Posts from August 2012

5 Items

Ki Tetze 5772

by Rabbi Yaakov Grunewald

The meaning of the name of this morning’s Sidra is when you go out. It continues with the subject of war, with the previous Sidra concluded. This is the reason why the Sidra begins in the middle of a chapter. The Christians, who divided the Bible into chapters, did not regard this law as the beginning […]

Shoftim 5772

by Rabbi Yaakov Grunewald

The meaning of the name of today’s Sidra is JUDGES. The Torah commands us to appoint judges and officers to keep social order. The first verse reads: “You shall appoint judges and officers throughout your gates, i.e. cities, which the Lord your God is giving you, in the territory of every one of your tribes, […]

Re’eh 5772

by Rabbi Yaakov Grunewald

The meaning of the Hebrew name of today’s Sidra is: See.  In the first sentence Moses tells the Israelites that he is giving to them the possibility to choose between the blessing and the curse. The syntax of this verse is striking. It begins by addressing one single person and continues by addressing the entire […]

Ekev 5772

by Rabbi Yaakov Grunewald

The literal meaning of the Hebrew name of today’s Sidra is FOOTSTEPS. Here it is used in a borrowed sense to mean result, consequence or reward. Therefore, the first sentence means: “It will be, as a reward, for listening to all these commandments… that, the Lord will fulfil the terms of the covenant to love […]

Vaetchanan 5772

by Rabbi Yaakov Grunewald

The meaning of the name of today’s Sidra is I prayed. The first passage contains Moses reports that, after the conquest of the territories on the Eastern side of the Jordan, he made the final very personal plea to the Almighty to allow him to enter the land. He thought that, since he had been given […]